1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a chemical engineering process. More particularly, this invention relates to a superoxygenation method that increases the dissolved oxygen in a bio-oxidizable fluid in a bio-oxidation reactor.
2. Prior Art
Long before it was understood, it was recognized that the waste products from living things were disposed of more readily in cascading water than stagnant pools. As an understanding developed that oxygen was required to degrade such waste, and it became known that a small amount of oxygen can be dissolved in water, efforts were directed toward the artificial aeration of water.
Early development of the trickling filter provided a means for adding oxygen to bio-oxidizable fluids, thus hastening the bio-oxidation process. Means for sparging air into such fluids below the surface thereof so that the upward movement of the gas through the liquid would result in some oxygen being dissolved therein came later and provided a more rapid bio-oxidation procedure.
When the need for stimulating the aerobic growth of microorganisms came as the discovery of antibiotics for treating disease burst upon the world in the thirties, the sparging of air into fermentation media in deep tank cultures permitted the large scale production of such useful things as penicillin. A large bank of technology has been built-up relating to the most efficient means for providing oxygen for the growth of the mycelia which produce antibiotics. Classically, large pumps are employed which compress air, push such compressed air through sterilizing filters, and out through spargers located near the bottom of columns of fermentation media into such media, all the while agitating the media to maintain as much homogenity as possible. Some of the oxygen in the air sparged into the fermentation media is dissolved in the liquid phase. This dissolved oxygen is utilized in the biological system that marks the growth and proliferation of the mycelia.
But even at its best, the sparging of compressed air into a bio-oxidizable fluid to provide dissolved oxygen for the life processes for the microorganisms that dispose of waste from living things, and produce the life saving antibiotics is an inefficient process. Less than 1 percent of the oxygen that is sparged into the bio-oxidizable fluid is ever dissolved therein, and large quantities of energy are required to pump the air through the spargers. This is at least partly due to the lower limit of the size of the air bubbles that can be effectively produced by conventional spargers.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a super-oxygenation method that significantly increases the oxygen dissolved in a bio-oxidizable fluid over that effected from sparging a similar volume of oxygen into such fluid, a method useful for antibiotics production, food fermentation or biological waste treatment processes.
It is another object of this invention to provide a super-oxygenation method that significantly increases the total number of the bubbles from a unit volume of gas dispersed in a bio-oxidizable fluid over that effected from sparging a similar volume of gas into such fluid.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a super-oxygenation method that significantly increases the surface area of the bubbles from a unit volume of gas dispersed in a bio-oxidizable fluid over that effected from sparging a similar volume of gas into such fluid.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a super-oxygenation method that requires significantly less energy to effectively dissolve a given quantity of oxygen in a bio-oxidizable fluid than that required by the conventional sparging method.